The story of the
Chrimes, Crimes, Chrymes and Crymes
surnames

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Artefacts and Entities

The things we've left, for others to find

There are a surprising number of things out there which have the surname CHRIMES, CRIMES, CHRYMES or CRYMES on them. These are things that you might come across, outside of genealogical research. Some have come and gone, but they all have a story to tell. Here are just a few.


This webpage does not include gravestones, even though they are probably the most common artefact which feature our names. There are already several good online sources of information regarding burials, such as

Many entries in these existing websites include photographs and transcriptions of gravestone inscriptions. Volunteers are adding to the content of these websites continually. I would prefer to contribute to these existing websites rather than duplicate their contents.


This webpage is most definitely incomplete. As is so often the case within this website, this compilation places undue emphasis on the name CHRIMES within the UK. I welcome wholeheartedly any contributions for CRIMES/CHRYMES/CRYMES, and in other countries.

The Chrimes Cup

This cup is held by the Neston Institute Bowling Club, Neston, Wirral, Cheshire, England. It was established in 1956 in the name of Reginald Braithwaite ('Reg') CHRIMES (1924-2021).

From The Cheshire Observer of 23 August 1958:
Westminster Park Bowler's Success in Neston Competition
The R B Chrimes Cup for bowling, together with a prize valued at £12, was won at Neston Institute recently, by W Wilson, of Westminster Park, Chester, Bowling Club, who narrowly defeated S Feather, of Hoole Alexandra Park Bowling Club, 21-19. ... Mr. T. Hughes, chairman of the Neston Institute Bowling Club, expressed the Club's appreciation to the bowlers, the organising committee, the Club secretary, Mr. J D Blount, and Mr. Grant. In conclusion Mr. Hughes said that it the the Club's intention to extend the R B Chrimes Cup competition during the next few years, and he pointed out that this could only be done with the active support, through increased entries, from the bowling community.

From The Liverpool Echo of 7 August 1970:
Chrimes Cup
The final of the R B Chrimes open bowls handicap will be played on the Neston Institute green, Hinderton Road, to-morrow (2:30). F Christy, who won the cup in 1956 in its inaugural year has again qualified for the final stages ....

It should be pointed out that bowling as described here is an outdoor grass 'green' sport utilising 'jacks' and 'woods', with a history going back hundreds of years, not to be confused with indoor '10-pin' bowling.

I am hopeful that more information will soon be available regarding this cup. It is still in the possession of the club and may be played for in 2022.

The Claude Crimes Challenge Cup

Four newspaper extracts tell a somewhat confusing story of cups:

The first reference is in an extract from the Cheshire Observer of 25 March 1944:
Prizes will be awarded to the tenants of the ten best [Chester] Corporation allotments entered for the scheme as follows:- First prize, £2 2s. (together with the Claude Crimes silver challenge cup); ...

From the Cheshire Observer of 22 September 1956:
Results of the [Chester] City Allotments Contest.... The Alderman Claude Crimes Festival challenge cup, a replica, £2 in cash and a certificate of merit: winner, Mr. G.E. Owen 119, Whitchurch-road (Boughton Heath colony), (170 points). The original Claude Crimes challenge cup, a replica, £1 10s. in cash and a certificate of merit: runner-up Mr. J.A. Hughes, 20, Cecil-street (Boughton Heath colony) (163)...

From The Cheshire Observer of 6 October 1967:
The presentation of prizes in the 1967 annual Allotments competition, organised by the Parks and Allotments Committee of the [Chester] City Council, were made last night at the Town Hall by the Mayor, Alderman Mrs. Sylvia Harris.... The first prize of the Claude Chrimes Challenge Cup, a tankard and £5 in cash and a certificate of merit, went to Mr. J.A. Hughes, of 20, Cecil Street, who gained 163 points out of a possible 200. Second prize of the original Claude Chrimes Challenge Cup, a tankard, and £3 in cash went to Mr. G Powell, of 60, Faulkner Street, Hoole, with 157 points...
The above extract refers twice to Claude Chrimes. Claude CRIMES does not appear in any other records with that surname, and I conclude that the newspaper made a error in their report, showing a lack of respect for a long-standing pillar of the Chester community.

From The Cheshire Observer of 24 June 1977:
Cycling rally in Handbridge [Chester]. Pupils taking part have all passed the National Cycling Proficiency Test and will compete for the Littlewood Shield and the Claude Crimes Cup. ...
We should not be surprised to see the Claude Crimes Cup associated with cycling, as Claude CRIMES was a long-established cycle dealer in Chester.

So, the cup(s) are reported to have the following names:

There are other reports of the award of these cups in other years, but they do nothing to clarify the matter. We can however be certain that the cups were established in the name of Claude CRIMES (1894-1957), Alderman of Chester City Council.

Chrimes Drive, Oakmere

Chrimes Drive is a short residential cul-de-sac at Oakmere in mid-Cheshire, England.
Co-ordinates of Location: 53°12'48.9"N 2°38'53.5"W
It appears to be a private road, that is to say it is not 'adopted' or maintained by the local authority.
It's certainly in historical CHRIMES territory, but how exactly did Chrimes Drive get its name?

Is this the only street in the world named after a CHRIMES/CRIMES/CHRYMES/CRYMES?

Chrimes Bridge, Weaverham

This bridge is still standing today. If passers-by look closely, there is still evidence of its association with the name CHRIMES.
Co-ordinates of Location: 53°15'10.7"N 2°34'34.2"W
The existence of Chrimes Bridge came to light when studying newspaper reports.

From The Staffordshire Advertiser of 22 November 1862:
[Notice of intended applications for government authorisation to build new railways]
Notice is hereby given, that application is intended to be made, to Parliament, in the next Session by the London and North-Western Railway Company, hereinafter called 'the Company', for an Act for the following purposes, or some of them:
To authorise and empower the Company to make and maintain the following railways or some of them, with all proper stations, approaches, works and conveniences connected herewith (that is to say):
A railway to commence in the township of Weaverham-cum-Milton, in the parish of Weaverham, in the county of Chester, at or near a point situate 286 yards, or thereabouts, to the southward of the bridge which carries the occupation road to the farm of Mr. William Chrimes over the London and North-Western Railway, known as Chrimes' Bridge, there to form a junction with the lastnamed railway, and to terminate in the township of Hartford, in the parish of Great Budworth, in the said county, at a point on the western side of the public road leading from the turnpike road from Hartford to Chester to the public road from Northwich to Weaverham, and nearly equidistant from each of the said roads, there to form a junction with the authorised line of the West Cheshire Railway, which said proposed railway will pass through the said township of Hartford, in the parish of Great Budworth, and the said township of Weaverham-cum-Milton, in the parish of Weaverham, in the county of Chester.

This is a long-winded way of saying that two railways which will cross each other should have a short curved link line.

The curve was built, but not going as far into Hartford as suggested above.
"... the public road leading from the turnpike road from Hartford to Chester to the public road from Northwich to Weaverham ..." is Bradburns Lane, Hartford. Why it was thought necessary for the railway link line to go that far before joining the West Cheshire Railway is not clear. Perhaps there was a concern about gradient for 1862 locomotive technology.
Anyway, we're interested in the other end of the link line, because of the reference to Chrimes' Bridge. Present-day satellite images show just one candidate for this bridge, at 53°15'10.7"N 2°34'34.2"W and it does indeed look like an old bridge suitable for a horse and cart, not just a footpath bridge which seems to be the extent of its present purpose. William CHRIMES the farmer is known to us from the 1861 census, as a 'farmer of 108 acres' at Gorstage which is another township within the parish of Weaverham. Although we do not know William's 'address' it is quite feasible that his farm in Gorstage was connected to Weaverham village by an occupation road crossing the railway at the candidate location. The link line does indeed start at about 286 yds south of this bridge.

So Chrimes Bridge is still standing, stradling the electrified high-speed railway line between London and Liverpool. Chrimes Bridge now carries a public footpath from Walnut Avenue, Weaverham to Gorstage.

There are no longer any CHRIMES living in Weaverham or Gorstage, so we might expect that all associations between the bridge and the name CHRIMES have been lost, but thanks to a 'Freedom of Information' request made to Network Rail (custodians of the English railway network infrastructure) by Mark Goodge in 2013, we have access to a database of the 28,451 Network Rail owned bridges. Searching the database for 'Chrimes' reveals:

The Ordnance Survey (OS) location reference is about 100m away from our candidate bridge, but in the letter sent from Network Rail to Mark Goodge they state "We cannot guarantee 100% accuracy of our OS grid references". There are no other bridges within 500m either side of the candidate bridge.

So, not only does Chrimes Bridge still exist, but Network Rail refer to it by that name!

In case there should be any doubt about 'Chrimes Bridge' being the one still standing at my proposed location, I am grateful to Andy CHRIMES for this photograph of the identifying plaque attached to the bridge.

Can you help? Any other photographs of the bridge would be appreciated

Chrimes Yard, Warrington

Although Chrimes Yard no longer exists, it is worth recording its demise.
Co-ordinates of Approximate Location: 53°23'15.9"N 2°35'28.8"W

From The Warrington Examiner of 28 December 1889:
Black Spots of Warrington
In the South-east Ward there are dwellings with very defective sanitary surroundings very near the centre of the town. In passing down Bridge-st., we have, off to the left, a number of Courts and alley in which the houses are huddled together in a fashion which must impede to a serious extent the supply of the chief elements of good sanitation, namely fresh air. Amongst the labyrinthine passages of this quarter of the town, one gets into such places as Chrimes'-yard and Ship-yard, which are ill-paved and consequently wet and sloppy....

From The Widnes Examiner of 30 September 1893:
The Forthcoming [Warrington] Town Council Meeting
The Gas Committee
The Committee recommend that the cottages in Chrimes' Yard be demolished.

From The St. Helens Examiner of 16 November 1900:
Important Street Improvements at Warrington
New Street from Bank Street
The Borough Surveyors gave particulars of the purchase of property in Chrimes-yard for the purpose of making a new street from Upper Bank-street to Academy-street...
Mr. Gough: Have you any idea of carrying this new street right through to Bridge-street?
The Town Clerk: We should like to do so....

From The Widnes Examiner of 12 June 1909:
Warrington 60 years ago...
In Chrimes yard there stood another public-house. This was kept by quaker, Thomas Leadbetter, whom we should imagine to be the last quaker to hold the position of inn-keeper in Warrington - possibly in England.

Attempting to trace these streets on a modern map of Warrington is difficult because so much of the town has been redeveloped, but it seems that the current "Academy Way" may be the "new" street referred to in 1900, and it does indeed link Academy Street, Bank Street and Bridge street. Sadly, it is very unlikely that any trace of Chrimes Yard remains.

We can only guess how Chrimes Yard got its name. It is tempting to associate it with Joseph CHRIMES (1814-1869) who was mayor of Warrington in the 1850s. However, he would be unlikely to lend his name to such poor quality property. It is more likely that Chrimes Yard was named after someone who lived there.

The Chrimes Family Charitable Trust

This is an active charity (2021) and is officially registered with and monitored by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The charity provides funds towards projects for community welfare and the improvement of health and education in Merseyside, Wirral and North Wales. It helps children/young people, elderly/old people, people with disabilities and other charities or voluntary bodies.

I have been unable, so far, to find out who established the charity - which 'Chrimes Family'? I have not received a reply, from the charity, to my enquiry. It seems to have been established by a "DEED OF SETTLEMENT DATED 21 MARCH 1955".

See the Trust Registration at the Charity Commission website.

Guest and Chrimes valve covers

Given the grand scale and long life of the Guest and Chrimes brass and iron foundry in Rotherham, Yorkshire, there must be hundreds of their products still in existence in the UK and indeed in the rest of the "Empire". Making that assumption is easy, but actually finding two is nevertheless remarkable.


This old cast iron water valve cover is in the pavement of Street Lane, Lower Whitley, near Warrington, Cheshire, England. The finder, Roger CHRIMES, was surprised to find his surname cast in iron under his feet!
Co-ordinates of Approximate Location: 53°18'24.0"N 2°34'47.1"W

The location of this valve cover reveals a strange coincidence. There is no particular reason why it should have been found near Warrington - Guest and Chrimes products were sold throughout the UK and abroad - but the ancestors of the CHRIMES dynasty of Rotherham, Yorkshire, came from Warrington!


This more recent example is a Fire Hydrant cover, found by Andy CHRIMES at Cambletown, Argyle, Scotland, close to the Sheriff Clerk's Office on Castle Hill. It will have been painted yellow in recent times.
Co-ordinates of location: 55°25'22.1"N 5°36'25.3"W


When I first visited Rotherham in the 1980s the Guest and Chrimes factory was still standing, though derelict, and the words of the company name on the building were so large as to be unmissable as you drove up Greasbrough Road. I note that the site has now been re-developed as the "New York Stadium" of Rotherham United Football Club.

The Clarke House, Chicago

Built in 1836 for Henry B. Clarke, the Clarke House Museum is Chicago’s oldest house.
Location: 1827 S Indiana Ave, Chicago, Illinois, USA

There is a very significant connection between the Clarke House and a CHRIMES family. Without the intervention of the CHRIMESs, the house would probably not have survived.

From The City of Chicago Government Website:
The Chrimes Family
John Chrimes, a tailor, and his wife Lydia purchased the Clarke House in 1872. The previous year, the Great Fire of 1871 had begun west of the Clarke House and spread northeast through the downtown area, bypassing Clarke House. Fearful of another fire, and wanting to get an ailing child out to the purer air of the country, the Chrimes had the Clarke House moved twenty eight blocks south and one block west to 4526 South Wabash Avenue. In the move, the original pillared front portico was removed.

John CHRIMES was born in 1823 at Warrington, England. He had married Lydia Claghorn RICHARDSON at New York in 1853 and by 1860 they were settled in Chicago.

More from The City of Chicago Government Website:
Three generations of the Chrimes family occupied the house from 1872 to 1941. The Chrimes’ daughter Mary married William H. Walter, and during their residence they took great interest in the house’s history. The two Walters daughters, Lydia and Laura, both graduates of the University of Chicago and teachers in Chicago public schools, in turn appreciated the historic significance of their 1836 house. When they no longer needed as much space, they urged the City of Chicago to acquire it, but these efforts were unsuccessful. Bishop Louis Henry Ford and the St. Paul Church of God in Christ offered to buy the house from the Chrimes family in 1941, and the granddaughters accepted.

In 1977 The City of Chicago bought the house, understanding it to be the oldest surviving structure in Chicago. The house was moved again, to its present location which is close to where it had been built in 1836. The house is now a City of Chicago museum, having been restored both externally and internally to its orginal condition.

See the full history of the Clarke House at the City of Chicago Government website.

Can you help? Have you visited The Clarke House? Can you contribute a photograph? Please let me know.

War Memorials

War Memorials certainly fit the remit of this story.
There are many which have the name CHRIMES/CRIMES/CHRYMES/CRYMES inscribed on them.
But there are so many different types in different locations that a separate story is justified:

See War Memorials - British Commonwealth
- commemorating the loss of British and Commonwealth servicemen

In the US many individuals' gravestones give military service details, and there are major memorials on The National Mall, at Washington DC, for each of the world conflicts (which I have visited). However, of these, the Korean War Memorial and the Second World War Memorial do not record names of individuals, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, although it does record names, does not include any CHRIMES/CRIMES/CRYMES.

If further information comes to light regarding war memorials in Australia, Canada or the United States which feature the name CHRIMES/CRIMES/CHRYMES/CRYMES I will be pleased to record it here.

Public Service Memorials

I have yet to find any particular examples, but feel sure that there must be commemorative plaques recording the Local Government Service or Philanthropic Work of, for example:

Can you help? Please let me know of any examples which you find. Photographs would be even more appreciated.

Books - Subjects

These people have been the subject of books:
.

Albert CRIMES (1921-1985)

A subject of "CRIMES AND ARNOLD - The Story of Two Great Racing Cyclists, Friends and Rivals"

Compiled: Martin Purser

Published: 2020

Availability: Small print run sold out

John CHRIMES (1823-1876)

A subject of "HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS WITH COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIES"

Compiled and Edited: William P. Munsell

Published: 1943 Chicago

Availability: Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

See digitised version.

William Bertram CHRIMES (1883-1972)

The subject of: "Chief - A Memoir of Sir Bertram Chrimes C.B.E., J.P. By His Son"

Author: Henry Bertram CHRIMES (1915-1997)

Published: Unknown

Availability: No longer in print. Used copy available online.

Books - Authors

These people have 'put pen to paper' on a wide variety of subjects, including children's stories, travel, history, hospitality and healthcare:

Andy CHRIMES

"Ice and Lemon?"

- A guide to front-of-house service in the hospitality sector

Stanley Bertram CHRIMES (1907-1984)

"Henry VII"

Many other titles

- Generally on the subject of the administration of medieval England

Nicholas CHRIMES (England)

"Cambridge: Treasure Island in the Fens"

- The 800 year story of the University and Town of Cambridge, 1209 to 2009

"Through Wuzhen to China: An Englishman's Journey"

- Chinese history and culture

Nicholas CHRIMES (Australia) Co-author

"The Vortex Approach: Management of the Unanticipated Difficult Airway"

"The COAT & Review Approach: How to recognise and manage unwell patients"

- Educational Guides to Emergency Healthcare

Penny CHRIMES

"Tiger Heart"

"The Dragon and Her Boy"

- Magical adventure stories for children, set on the dark streets of Dickensian London

Mike CHRIMES

"The Civil Engineering of Canals and Railways before 1850"

Many other titles as author and co-author

- History of Civil Engineering and the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK)


I have not included published scientific papers in this list, of which there are many.

Can you help? Do you have any information or comments on this webpage? Have I missed any items?

David Chrimes December 2021
Updated January 2022 (Chrimes Bridge, Guest and Chrimes valve covers)
Updated December 2022 (reference to separate story for War Memorials)

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